Paging Cause Determination for an Inactive Device in a 5G System

ABSTRACT

An apparatus of a next generation NodeB (gNB) comprises one or more baseband processors to receive a downlink Protocol Data Unit (DL PDU) from User Plane Function for a user equipment (UE) in a Radio Resource Control Inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state, wherein the DL PDU includes a Paging Cause to indicate to the UE a reason for the page, and to send the Paging Cause in a paging message to the UE. The apparatus can include a memory to store the paging message.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of US Provisional ApplicationNo. 62/769,312 (AB7212-Z) filed Nov. 19, 2018. Said Application No.62/769,312 is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Recently there have been proposals in the Third Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP) for introduction of a Paging Cause in the [Uu] Pagingmessage. In these proposals the Paging Cause is determined by theMobility Management Entity (MME) in an Evolved Packet System (EPS) andby the Session Management Function (SMF) in a Fifth Generation System(5GS) and is delivered to the user equipment (UE) in the [Uu] Pagingmessage. The Paging Cause indicates the type of traffic that has causedthe paging and can take one of the following example values: “IMSvoice”, “IMS SMS”, “IMS other”, or “other”, where IMS refers to InternetProtocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem and SMS refers to Short MessageService. The Paging Cause is supposed to assist the UE in decidingwhether to respond to the page, for example when the Paging Cause is setto “IMS voice”, or whether to defer the response, for example when thePaging Cause is set to “IMS SMS” and the UE is engaged in some highpriority task.

The Paging Cause has not yet been agreed by the 3GPP, but the proposalresurfaces regularly as it also has the potential to assist DualSubscriber Identity Module (Dual-SIM) dual standby devices. If thePaging Cause is agreed, for a UE in a Connection Management Idle(CM_IDLE) state it was already proposed that the Paging Cause determinedby the Session Management Function (SMF) will be sent to AccessManagement Function (AMF) over N11, then to the Next Generation RadioAccess Network (NG-RAN) via an [N2] Paging message and from there to theUE in a [Uu] Paging message. To date, there does not exist any proposalon how to convey the Paging Cause to a UE in a Radio Resource ControlInactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

Claimed subject matter is particularly pointed out and distinctlyclaimed in the concluding portion of the specification. However, suchsubject matter may be understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when read with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of the architecture of a Fifth Generation (5G)system in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an architecture of a system of a network inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates example components of a device in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry inaccordance with some embodiments.

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and/or clarity ofillustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarilybeen drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elementsmay be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, ifconsidered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among thefigures to indicate corresponding and/or analogous elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth to provide a thorough understanding of claimed subject matter. Itwill, however, be understood by those skilled in the art that claimedsubject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known methods, procedures, components and/or circuitshave not been described in detail.

In the following description and/or claims, the terms coupled and/orconnected, along with their derivatives, may be used. In particularembodiments, connected may be used to indicate that two or more elementsare in direct physical and/or electrical contact with each other.Coupled may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical and/orelectrical contact. However, coupled may also mean that two or moreelements may not be in direct contact with each other, but yet may stillcooperate and/or interact with each other. For example, “coupled” maymean that two or more elements do not contact each other but areindirectly joined together via another element or intermediate elements.Finally, the terms “on,” “overlying,” and “over” may be used in thefollowing description and claims. “On,” “overlying,” and “over” may beused to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physicalcontact with each other. It should be noted, however, that “over” mayalso mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with eachother. For example, “over” may mean that one element is above anotherelement but not contact each other and may have another element orelements in between the two elements. Furthermore, the term “and/or” maymean “and”, it may mean “or”, it may mean “exclusive-or”, it may mean“one”, it may mean “some, but not all”, it may mean “neither”, and/or itmay mean “both”, although the scope of claimed subject matter is notlimited in this respect. In the following description and/or claims, theterms “comprise” and “include,” along with their derivatives, may beused and are intended as synonyms for each other.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a diagram of the architecture of a FifthGeneration (5G) system in accordance with one or more embodiments willbe discussed. FIG. 1 shows the 5G system architecture in the non-roamingcase using the reference point representation showing how variousnetwork functions interact with each other. The 5G system 100 caninclude a user equipment (UE) 110, a radio access network (RAN) 112,User Plane Function (UPF) 114, and Data Network (DN) 116. The 5G system100 further can include an Access Management Function (AMF) 118, SessionManagement Function (SMF), Policy Control Function (PCF) 122, andApplication Function (AF) 124. In addition, the 5G system 100 caninclude a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) 126, AuthenticationServer Function (AUSF) 128, and Unified Data Management (UDM) 130.

For a UE 110 in a Connection Management Idle (CM_IDLE) state, the AMF118 sends an [N2] Paging message to RAN 112 including the Paging Cause.For a UE 110 a Radio Resource Control Inactive (RRC_INACTIVE)(CM_Connected) state, the N3/N9 user plane interface is up and running.In accordance with one or more embodiments as discussed herein, thePaging Cause is proposed to be carried in the GTP-U subheader in everydata packet on N3 and N9. The 3GPP 5G System defined in Release 15supports the Paging Policy Differentiation feature defined in 3GPPTechnical Standard (TS) 23.501 clause 5.4.3.2 as follows below.

When the 5GS supports the Paging Policy Differentiation (PPD) feature,the Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) value (TOS in IPv4/TC inIPv6) is set by the application to indicate to the 5GS which PagingPolicy should be applied for a certain Internet Protocol (IP) packet.For example, as defined in 3GPP TS 23.228, the Proxy Call SessionControl Function (P-CSCF) may support Paging Policy Differentiation bymarking one or more packets to be sent towards the UE that relate to aspecific IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services, for exampleconversational voice as defined in IMS multimedia telephony service.

In the case of Network Triggered Service Request and User Plane Function(UPF) buffering downlink data packet, the UPF 114 shall include theDifferentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) a Radio Resource ControlInactive (RRC_INACTIVE) in Type of Service (ToS) (IPv4) and/or TrafficClass (TC) (IPv6) value from the IP header of the downlink data packetand an indication of the corresponding Quality of Service (QoS) Flow inthe data notification message sent to the SMF 120. When Paging PolicyDifferentiation (PPD) applies, the SMF 120 determines the Paging PolicyIndicator (PPI) based on the DSCP received from the UPF 114.

In the case of Network Triggered Service Request and the SMF 120buffering downlink data packet, when PPD applies, the SMF determines thePPI based on the DSCP in TOS (IPv4)/TC (IPv6) value from the IP headerof the received downlink data packet and identifies the correspondingQoS Flow from the QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) of the received downlinkdata packet.

The SMF includes the PPI, the Allocation and Retention Policy (ARP) andthe 5G QoS Identifier (5QI) of the corresponding QoS Flow in the N11message sent to the AMF 118. If the UE is in CM_IDLE, the AMF 118 usesthis information to derive a paging strategy and sends paging messagesto NG-RAN over N2.

For a UE 110 in RRC Inactive state the NG-RAN 112 may enforce specificpaging policies in the case of NG-RAN paging, based on 5QI ARP and PPIassociated with an incoming downlink (DL) protocol data unit (PDU). Toenable this, the SMF 120 instructs the UPF 114 to detect the DSCP in theTOS (IPv4)/TC (IPv6) value in the IP header of the DL PDU by using a DLPacket Detection Rule (PDR) with the DSCP for this traffic and totransfer the corresponding PPI in the core network (CN) tunnel header byusing a Forwarding Action Rule (FAR) with the PPI value. The NG-RAN 112can then utilize the PPI received in the CN tunnel header of an incomingDL PDU in order to apply the corresponding paging policy for the casethe UE needs to be paged when in RRC Inactive state.

As indicated in the underlined text above, the 5GC network has all thenecessary mechanisms in place to determine the Paging Policy Indicator(PPI) that points to a specific paging strategy as follows.

For UE 110 in CM_IDLE state the PPI indicator is used by the AMF 118when performing paging.

For UE 110 in RRC_INACTIVE state the PPI is included in user planeframes on the N3/N9 interface. The header of the N3/N9 units isdescribed in 3GPP TS 38.415 as follows.

5.5.2.1 DL PDU Session Information (PDU Type 0)

This frame format is defined to allow the NG-RAN to receive some controlinformation elements which are associated with the transfer of a packetover the interface.

The following Table 1 shows the respective DL PDU SESSION INFORMATIONframe.

TABLE 1 DL PDU SESSION INFORMATION (PDU Type 0) Format Bits Number of 76 5 4 3 2 1 0 Octets PDU Type (=0) Spare 1 PPP RQI QoS Flow Identifier 1PPI Spare 0 or 1 Padding 0-3

The Paging Policy Presence (PPP) field indicates whether the PagingPolicy Indicator (PPI) field is included or not.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the SMF 120 determines thePaging Cause based on the DSCP received from the UPF 114. For a UE 110in RRC_INACTIVE state the SMF 120 instructs the UPF 114 to detect theDSCP in the TOS (IPv4)/TC (IPv6) value in the IP header of the DL PDU,by using a DL PDR with the DSCP for this traffic, and to transfer thecorresponding Paging Cause in the CN tunnel header. The NG-RAN can thenutilize the Paging Cause received in the CN tunnel header of an incomingDL PDU in order to convey it to the UE 110 in the [Uu] Paging messagefor the case the UE 110 needs to be paged when in RRC_INACTIVE state.The embodiments herein are directed to a mechanism for conveying aPaging Cause parameter in the [Uu] Paging message for a UE 110 inRRC_INACTIVE state.

In one or more embodiments, the SMF 120 determines the Paging Causebased on the DSCP received from the UPF 114. For a UE 110 inRRC_INACTIVE state the SMF 120 instructs the UPF 114 to detect the DSCPin the TOS (IPv4)/TC (IPv6) value in the IP header of the DL PDU byusing a DL PDR with the DSCP for this traffic and to transfer thecorresponding Paging Cause in the CN tunnel header. The NG-RAN 112 canthen utilize the Paging Cause received in the CN tunnel header of anincoming DL PDU in order to convey it to the UE 110 in the [Uu] Pagingmessage for the case the UE 110 needs to be paged when in RRC_INACTIVEstate. The proposed change to 3GPP TS 23.501 clause 5.4.3.2 can be asfollows.

5.4.3.2 Paging Policy Differentiation

Paging policy differentiation is an optional feature that allows the AMF118, based on operator configuration, to apply different pagingstrategies for different traffic or service types provided within thesame PDU Session. In this Release of the specification this featureapplies only to PDU Session of IP type.

When the 5GS supports the Paging Policy Differentiation (PPD) feature,the DSCP value (TOS in IPv4/TC in IPv6) is set by the application toindicate to the 5GS which Paging Policy should be applied for a certainIP packet. For example, as defined in 3GPP TS 23.228, the P-CSCF maysupport Paging Policy Differentiation by marking one or more packets tobe sent towards the UE 110 that relate to a specific IMS services, forexample conversational voice as defined in IMS multimedia telephonyservice.

It shall be possible for the operator to configure the SMF 120 in such away that the Paging Policy Differentiation feature only applies tocertain Home Public Land Mobile Networks (HPLMNs), Data Network Names(DNNs), and 5G QoS Identifiers (5QIs). In the case of Home Routed (HR)roaming, this configuration is done in the SMF 120 in the Visited PLMN(VPLMN).

NOTE 1: Support of Paging Policy Differentiation in the case of HRroaming requires inter operator agreements including on the DSCP valueassociated with this feature.

In the case of Network Triggered Service Request and UPF bufferingdownlink data packet, the UPF 114 shall include the DSCP in TOS(IPv4)/TC (IPv6) value from the IP header of the downlink data packetand an indication of the corresponding QoS Flow in the data notificationmessage sent to the SMF 120. When PPD applies, the SMF 120 determinesthe Paging Policy Indicator (PPI) and optionally determines a PagingCause based on the DSCP received from the UPF 114.

In the case of Network Triggered Service Request and SMF bufferingdownlink data packet, when PPD applies, the SMF 120 determines the PPIand optionally determines a Paging Cause based on the DSCP in TOS(IPv4)/TC (IPv6) value from the IP header of the received downlink datapacket and identifies the corresponding QoS Flow from the QFI of thereceived downlink data packet.

The SMF 120 includes the PPI, the ARP, and the 5QI of the correspondingQoS Flow and optionally a Paging Cause in the N11 message sent to theAMF 118. If the UE 110 is in CM_IDLE, the AMF 118 uses this informationto derive a paging strategy and sends paging messages to NG-RAN 112 overN2. The AMF 118 shall forward the Paging Cause in the paging message toNG-RAN 112 if it was received from the SMF 120. The Paging Causecontains one of the following values: “IMS voice”, “IMS SMS”, “IMS otherservice” which is not voice/SMS related, or “Other PS service” which isnot IMS related.

NOTE 2: Network configuration needs to ensure that the information usedas a trigger for Paging Policy Indication is not changed within the 5GS.

NOTE 3: Network configuration needs to ensure that the specific DSCP inTOS (IPv4)/TC (IPv6) value, used as a trigger for Paging PolicyIndication, is managed correctly in order to avoid the accidental use ofcertain paging policies.

For a UE 110 in RRC Inactive state the NG-RAN 112 may enforce specificpaging policies in the case of NG-RAN paging, based on 5QI, ARP, and PPIassociated with an incoming DL PDU. To enable this, the SMF 120instructs the UPF 114 to detect the DSCP in the TOS (IPv4)/TC (IPv6)value in the IP header of the DL PDU, by using a DL PDR with the DSCPfor this traffic, and to transfer the corresponding PPI and optionallythe Paging Cause in the CN tunnel header by using a FAR with the PPI andPaging Cause value. The NG-RAN 112 can then utilize the PPI received inthe CN tunnel header of an incoming DL PDU in order to apply thecorresponding paging policy for the case the UE 110 needs to be pagedwhen in RRC Inactive state. If the Paging Cause was included in the CNtunnel header of an incoming DL PDU the NG-RAN 112 forwards the PagingCause to the UE 110 for the case the UE 110 needs to be paged when inRRC Inactive state. The related change to 3GPP TS 38.415 clause 5.5.2.1can be as follows

The following Table 2 shows the respective DL PDU SESSION INFORMATIONframe with the added Paging Cause added in underlining.

TABLE 2 DL PDU SESSION INFORMATION frame Bits Number of 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0Octets PDU Type (=0) Spare 1 PPP RQI QoS Flow Identifier 1 PPI PagingCause Spare 0 or 1 Padding 0-3

FIG. 2 illustrates an architecture of a system 200 of a network inaccordance with some embodiments. The system 200 is shown to include auser equipment (UE)201 and a UE 202. The UEs 201 and 202 are illustratedas smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devicesconnectable to one or more cellular networks) but may also comprise anymobile or non-mobile computing device, such as Personal Data Assistants(PDAs), pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wireless handsets,or any computing device including a wireless communications interface.

In some embodiments, any of the UEs 201 and 202 can comprise an Internetof Things (IoT) UE, which can comprise a network access layer designedfor low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. AnIoT UE can utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) ormachine-type communications (MTC) for exchanging data with an MTC serveror device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), Proximity-BasedService (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, sensornetworks, or IoT networks. The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be amachine-initiated exchange of data. An IoT network describesinterconnecting IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiableembedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure), withshort-lived connections. The IoT UEs may execute background applications(e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate theconnections of the IoT network.

The UEs 201 and 202 may be configured to connect, e.g., communicativelycouple, with a radio access network (RAN)210—the RAN 210 may be, forexample, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), orsome other type of RAN. The UEs 201 and 202 utilize connections 203 and204, respectively, each of which comprises a physical communicationsinterface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example,the connections 203 and 204 are illustrated as an air interface toenable communicative coupling, and can be consistent with cellularcommunications protocols, such as a Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM) protocol, a code-division multiple access (CDMA)network protocol, a Push-to-Talk (FT protocol, a PIT over Cellular (POC)protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol,a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a fifth generation (5G)protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, and the like.

In this embodiment, the UEs 201 and 202 may further directly exchangecommunication data via a ProSe interface 205. The ProSe interface 205may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface comprising oneor more logical channels, including but not limited to a PhysicalSidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel(PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a PhysicalSidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

The UE 202 is shown to be configured to access an access point (AP) 206via connection 207. The connection 207 can comprise a local wirelessconnection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11protocol, wherein the AP 206 would comprise a wireless fidelity (WiFi®)router. In this example, the AP 206 is shown to be connected to theInternet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system(described in further detail below).

The RAN 210 can include one or more access nodes that enable theconnections 203 and 204. These access nodes (ANs) can be referred to asbase stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next GenerationNodeBs (gNB), RAN nodes, and so forth, and can comprise ground stations(e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations providingcoverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). The RAN 210 mayinclude one or more RAN nodes for providing macrocells, e.g., macro RANnode 211, and one or more RAN nodes for providing femtocells orpicocells (e.g., cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller usercapacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells), e.g., low power(LP) RAN node 212.

Any of the RAN nodes 211 and 212 can terminate the air interfaceprotocol and can be the first point of contact for the UEs 201 and 202.In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 211 and 212 can fulfillvarious logical functions for the RAN 210 including, but not limited to,radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearermanagement, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management anddata packet scheduling, and mobility management.

In accordance with some embodiments, the UEs 201 and 202 can beconfigured to communicate using Orthogonal Frequency-DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with each other or with any ofthe RAN nodes 211 and 212 over a multicarrier communication channel inaccordance various communication techniques, such as, but not limitedto, an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA)communication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a SingleCarrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communicationtechnique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications),although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlinktransmissions from any of the RAN nodes 211 and 212 to the UEs 201 and202, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The gridcan be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequencyresource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in eachslot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practicefor OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resourceallocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds toone OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration ofthe resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radioframe. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted asa resource element. Each resource grid comprises a number of resourceblocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels toresource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection ofresource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent thesmallest quantity of resources that currently can be allocated. Thereare several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed usingsuch resource blocks.

The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may carry user data andhigher-layer signaling to the UEs 201 and 202. The physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) may carry information about the transport formatand resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among otherthings. It may also inform the UEs 201 and 202 about the transportformat, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request)information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlinkscheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to theUE 102 within a cell) may be performed at any of the RAN nodes 211 and212 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs201 and 202. The downlink resource assignment information may be sent onthe PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs 201 and 202.

The PDCCH may use control channel elements (CCEs) to convey the controlinformation. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCHcomplex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets, whichmay then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching.Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, whereeach CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elementsknown as resource element groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase ShiftKeying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can betransmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of thedownlink control information (DCI) and the channel condition. There canbe four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with differentnumbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

Some embodiments may use concepts for resource allocation for controlchannel information that are an extension of the above-describedconcepts. For example, some embodiments may utilize an enhanced physicaldownlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for controlinformation transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one ormore enhanced the control channel elements (ECCEs). Similar to above,each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elementsknown as an enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). An ECCE may haveother numbers of EREGs in some situations.

The RAN 210 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network(CN) 220—via an S1 interface 213. In embodiments, the CN 220 may be anevolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet Core (NPC) network,or some other type of CN. In this embodiment the S1 interface 213 issplit into two parts: the S1-U interface 214, which carries traffic databetween the RAN nodes 211 and 212 and the serving gateway (S-GW) 222,and the S1-mobility management entity (MME) interface 215, which is asignaling interface between the RAN nodes 211 and 212 and MMEs 221.

In this embodiment, the CN 220 comprises the MMEs 221, the S-GW 222, thePacket Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 223, and a home subscriberserver (HSS) 224. The MMEs 221 may be similar in function to the controlplane of legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) SupportNodes (SGSN). The MMEs 221 may manage mobility aspects in access such asgateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 224 maycomprise a database for network users, including subscription-relatedinformation to support the network entities' handling of communicationsessions. The CN 220 may comprise one or several HSSs 224, depending onthe number of mobile subscribers, on the capacity of the equipment, onthe organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 224 canprovide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization,naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc.

The S-GW 222 may terminate the S1 interface 213 towards the RAN 210, androutes data packets between the RAN 210 and the CN 220. In addition, theS-GW 222 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN nodehandovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Otherresponsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policyenforcement.

The P-GW 223 may terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN. The P-GW 223may route data packets between the EPC network 223 and external networkssuch as a network including the application server 230 (alternativelyreferred to as application function (AF)) via an Internet Protocol (IP)interface 225. Generally, the application server 230 may be an elementoffering applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network(e.g., UMTS Packet Services (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). Inthis embodiment, the P-GW 223 is shown to be communicatively coupled toan application server 230 via an IP communications interface 225. Theapplication server 230 can also be configured to support one or morecommunication services (e.g., Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP)sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networkingservices, etc.) for the UEs 201 and 202 via the CN 220.

The P-GW 223 may further be a node for policy enforcement and chargingdata collection. Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCRF) 226 isthe policy and charging control element of the CN 220. In a non-roamingscenario, there may be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land MobileNetwork (HPLMN) associated with a UE's Internet Protocol ConnectivityAccess Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with localbreakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with a UE'sIP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within a HPLMN and a Visited PCRF(V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF226 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 230 via theP-GW 223. The application server 230 may signal the PCRF 226 to indicatea new service flow and select the appropriate Quality of Service (QoS)and charging parameters. The PCRF 226 may provision this rule into aPolicy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with theappropriate traffic flow template (TFT) and QoS class of identifier(QCI), which commences the QoS and charging as specified by theapplication server 230.

FIG. 3 illustrates example components of a device 300 in accordance withsome embodiments. In some embodiments, the device 300 may includeapplication circuitry 302, baseband circuitry 304, Radio Frequency (RF)circuitry 306, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 308, one or moreantennas 310, and power management circuitry (PMC) 312 coupled togetherat least as shown. The components of the illustrated device 300 may beincluded in a UE or a RAN node. In some embodiments, the device 300 mayinclude less elements (e.g., a RAN node may not utilize applicationcircuitry 302, and instead include a processor/controller to process IPdata received from an EPC). In some embodiments, the device 300 mayinclude additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage,display, camera, sensor, or input/output (I/O) interface. In otherembodiments, the components described below may be included in more thanone device (e.g., said circuitries may be separately included in morethan one device for Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementations).

The application circuitry 302 may include one or more applicationprocessors. For example, the application circuitry 302 may includecircuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core ormulti-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination ofgeneral-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphicsprocessors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupledwith or may include memory/storage and may be configured to executeinstructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applicationsor operating systems to run on the device 300. In some embodiments,processors of application circuitry 302 may process IP data packetsreceived from an EPC.

The baseband circuitry 304 may include circuitry such as, but notlimited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Thebaseband circuitry 304 may include one or more baseband processors orcontrol logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signalpath of the RF circuitry 306 and to generate baseband signals for atransmit signal path of the RF circuitry 306. Baseband processingcircuitry 304 may interface with the application circuitry 302 forgeneration and processing of the baseband signals and for controllingoperations of the RF circuitry 306. For example, in some embodiments,the baseband circuitry 304 may include a third generation (3G) basebandprocessor 304A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 304B, afifth generation (5G) baseband processor 304C, or other basebandprocessor(s) 304D for other existing generations, generations indevelopment or to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation(2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 304 (e.g.,one or more of baseband processors 304A-D) may handle various radiocontrol functions that enable communication with one or more radionetworks via the RF circuitry 306. In other embodiments, some or all ofthe functionality of baseband processors 304A-D may be included inmodules stored in the memory 304G and executed via a Central ProcessingUnit (CPU) 304E. The radio control functions may include, but are notlimited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radiofrequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulationcircuitry of the baseband circuitry 304 may include Fast-FourierTransform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demappingfunctionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of thebaseband circuitry 304 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution,turbo, Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoderfunctionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation andencoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and mayinclude other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 304 may include one or moreaudio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 304F. The audio DSP(s) 304F maybe include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellationand may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments.Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in asingle chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board insome embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituentcomponents of the baseband circuitry 304 and the application circuitry302 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on achip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 304 may provide forcommunication compatible with one or more radio technologies. Forexample, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 304 may supportcommunication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network(EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN).Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 304 is configured to supportradio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referredto as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

RF circuitry 306 may enable communication with wireless networks usingmodulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. Invarious embodiments, the RF circuitry 306 may include switches, filters,amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wirelessnetwork. RF circuitry 306 may include a receive signal path which mayinclude circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEMcircuitry 308 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry304. RF circuitry 306 may also include a transmit signal path which mayinclude circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by thebaseband circuitry 304 and provide RF output signals to the FEMcircuitry 308 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 306 mayinclude mixer circuitry 306 a, amplifier circuitry 306 b and filtercircuitry 306 c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RFcircuitry 306 may include filter circuitry 306 c and mixer circuitry 306a. RF circuitry 306 may also include synthesizer circuitry 306 d forsynthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 306 a of thereceive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments,the mixer circuitry 306 a of the receive signal path may be configuredto down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 308 based onthe synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 306 d. Theamplifier circuitry 306 b may be configured to amplify thedown-converted signals and the filter circuitry 306 c may be a low-passfilter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwantedsignals from the down-converted signals to generate output basebandsignals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the basebandcircuitry 304 for further processing. In some embodiments, the outputbaseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although thisis not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 306 a of thereceive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 306 a of the transmit signalpath may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on thesynthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 306 d togenerate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 308. The basebandsignals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 304 and may befiltered by filter circuitry 306 c.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 306 a of the receive signalpath and the mixer circuitry 306 a of the transmit signal path mayinclude two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadraturedownconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, themixer circuitry 306 a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry306 a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and maybe arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In someembodiments, the mixer circuitry 306 a of the receive signal path andthe mixer circuitry 306 a may be arranged for direct downconversion anddirect upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixercircuitry 306 a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 306 aof the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyneoperation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input basebandsignals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of theembodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternateembodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signalsmay be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RFcircuitry 306 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) anddigital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry304 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RFcircuitry 306.

In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may beprovided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some embodiments, thesynthesizer circuitry 306 d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or afractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments isnot limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers maybe suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 306 d may be adelta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizercomprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

The synthesizer circuitry 306 d may be configured to synthesize anoutput frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 306 a of the RFcircuitry 306 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. Insome embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 306 d may be a fractionalN/N+1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by avoltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement.Divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry304 or the applications processor 302 depending on the desired outputfrequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may bedetermined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by theapplications processor 302.

Synthesizer circuitry 306 d of the RF circuitry 306 may include adivider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phaseaccumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulusdivider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phaseaccumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured todivide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out)to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, theDLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phasedetector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments,the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Ndequal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in thedelay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to helpensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 306 d may be configured togenerate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in otherembodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrierfrequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrierfrequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and dividercircuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency withmultiple different phases with respect to each other. In someembodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In someembodiments, the RF circuitry 306 may include an IQ/polar converter.

FEM circuitry 308 may include a receive signal path which may includecircuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or moreantennas 310, amplify the received signals and provide the amplifiedversions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 306 for furtherprocessing. FEM circuitry 308 may also include a transmit signal pathwhich may include circuitry configured to amplify signals fortransmission provided by the RF circuitry 306 for transmission by one ormore of the one or more antennas 310. In various embodiments, theamplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may be donesolely in the RF circuitry 306, solely in the FEM 308, or in both the RFcircuitry 306 and the FEM 308.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 308 may include a TX/RX switch toswitch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEMcircuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path.The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include an LNA toamplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RFsignals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 306). The transmitsignal path of the FEM circuitry 308 may include a power amplifier (PA)to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 306), andone or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission(e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 310).

In some embodiments, the PMC 312 may manage power provided to thebaseband circuitry 304. In particular, the PMC 312 may controlpower-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DCconversion. The PMC 312 may often be included when the device 300 iscapable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device isincluded in a UE. The PMC 312 may increase the power conversionefficiency while providing desirable implementation size and heatdissipation characteristics.

While FIG. 3 shows the PMC 312 coupled only with the baseband circuitry304. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 3 12 may be additionally oralternatively coupled with, and perform similar power managementoperations for, other components such as, but not limited to,application circuitry 302, RF circuitry 306, or FEM 308.

In some embodiments, the PMC 312 may control, or otherwise be part of;various power saving mechanisms of the device 300. For example, if thedevice 300 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected tothe RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may entera state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period ofinactivity. During this state, the device 300 may power down for briefintervals of time and thus save power.

If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time,then the device 300 may transition off to an RRC_Idle state, where itdisconnects from the network and does not perform operations such aschannel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 300 goes into a verylow power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakesup to listen to the network and then powers down again. The device 300may not receive data in this state, in order to receive data, it musttransition back to RRC_Connected state.

An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable tothe network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging fromseconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totallyunreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sentduring this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay isacceptable.

Processors of the application circuitry 302 and processors of thebaseband circuitry 304 may be used to execute elements of one or moreinstances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the basebandcircuitry 304, alone or in combination, may be used execute Layer 3,Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the applicationcircuitry 304 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from theselayers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g., transmissioncommunication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers).As referred to herein, Layer 3 may comprise a radio resource control(RRC) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein,Layer 2 may comprise a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio linkcontrol (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 1may comprise a physical (PHY) layer of a UE/RAN node, described infurther detail below.

FIG. 4 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry inaccordance with some embodiments. As discussed above, the basebandcircuitry 304 of FIG. 3 may comprise processors 304A-304E and a memory304G utilized by said processors. Each of the processors 304A-304E mayinclude a memory interface, 404A-404E, respectively, to send/receivedata to/from the memory 304G.

The baseband circuitry 304 may further include one or more interfaces tocommunicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, such as a memoryinterface 412 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from memoryexternal to the baseband circuitry 304), an application circuitryinterface 414 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from theapplication circuitry 302 of FIG. 3), an RF circuitry interface 416(e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from RF circuitry 306 ofFIG. 3), a wireless hardware connectivity interface 418 (e.g., aninterface to send/receive data to/fromNear Field Communication (NFC)components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi®components, and other communication components), and a power managementinterface 420 (e.g., an interface to send/receive power or controlsignals to/from the PMC 312.

The following are example implementations of the subject matterdescribed herein. In example one, an apparatus of a next generationNodeB (gNB) comprises one or more baseband processors to receive adownlink (DL) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) from a User Plane Function (UPF)for a user equipment (UE) in a Radio Resource Control Inactive(RRC_INACTIVE) state, wherein the DL PDU includes a Paging Cause toindicate to the UE a reason for the page, and to send the Paging Causein a paging message to the UE. The apparatus can include a memory tostore the paging message. In example two, an apparatus of a core network(CN) comprises one or more processors to process a DifferentiatedService Code Point (DSCP) value received from a User Plane Function(UPF), to determine a Paging Cause for a user equipment (UE) in a RadioResource Control Inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state based on the DSCP,wherein the Paging Cause indicates a reason for the page. The apparatuscan include a memory to store the DSCP. In example three, one or machinereadable media have instructions thereon that, when executed by anapparatus of a next generation NodeB (gNB), result in receiving adownlink (DL) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) from a User Plane Function (UPF)for a user equipment (UE) in a Radio Resource Control Inactive(RRC_INACTIVE) state, wherein the DL PDU includes a Paging Cause toindicate to the UE a reason for the page, and sending the Paging Causein a paging message to the UE. In example four, one or machine readablemedia have instructions thereon that, when executed by an apparatus of acore network (CN), result in processing a Differentiated Service CodePoint (DSCP) value received from a User Plane Function (UPF), anddetermining a Paging Cause for a user equipment (UE) in a Radio ResourceControl Inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state based on the DSCP, wherein thePaging Cause indicates a reason for the page. In example five, anapparatus of a user equipment (UE) comprises one or more basebandprocessors to receive a paging message from a next generation NodeB(gNB) when the UE is in a Radio Resource Control Inactive (RRC_INACTIVE)state, wherein the paging message includes a Paging Cause to indicate tothe UE a reason for the page. The apparatus can include a memory tostore the paging message.

Although the claimed subject matter has been described with a certaindegree of particularity, it should be recognized that elements thereofmay be altered by persons skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and/or scope of claimed subject matter. It is believed that thesubject matter pertaining to paging cause determination for an inactivedevice in a 5G system and many of its attendant utilities will beunderstood by the forgoing description, and it will be apparent thatvarious changes may be made in the form, construction and/or arrangementof the components thereof without departing from the scope and/or spiritof the claimed subject matter or without sacrificing all of its materialadvantages, the form herein before described being merely an explanatoryembodiment thereof and/or further without providing substantial changethereto. It is the intention of the claims to encompass and/or includesuch changes.

1. An apparatus of a next generation NodeB (gNB), comprising: radiofrequency circuitry configured to communicate with a user equipment(UE); and one or more baseband processors communicatively coupled to theradio frequency circuitry and configured to perform operationscomprising: receiving a downlink (DL) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) from aUser Plane Function (UPF) for the UE in a Radio Resource ControlInactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state, wherein the DL PDU includes a PagingCause to indicate to the UE a reason for the page; and sending thePaging Cause in a paging message to the UE.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the Paging Cause indicates a type of traffic that has caused thepaging.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the type of trafficincludes Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voicetraffic, IMS Short Message Service (SMS) traffic, IMS other traffic, ornon-IMS traffic.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the Paging Causeis determined by a Core Network of the UPF.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein Paging Cause is sent to the UE in a downlink (DL) Protocol DataUnit (PDU) SESSION INFORMATION header.
 6. A function of a core network(CN) configured to perform operations, comprising: processing aDifferentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) value received from a UserPlane Function (UPF); and determining a Paging Cause for a userequipment (UE) in a Radio Resource Control Inactive (RRC INACTIVE) statebased on the DSCP, wherein the Paging Cause indicates a reason for thepage.
 7. The function of claim 6, wherein the core network includes aSession Management Function (SMF), and the SMF is to determine thepaging cause.
 8. The function of claim 6, wherein the Paging causeindicates a type of traffic that has caused the paging.
 9. The functionof claim 8, wherein the type of traffic includes Internet Protocol (IP)Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice traffic, IMS Short Message Service(SMS) traffic, IMS other traffic, or non-IMS traffic.
 10. One or moremachine readable media having instructions thereon that, when executedby an apparatus of a next generation NodeB (gNB), result in: receiving adownlink (DL) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) from a User Plane Function (UPF)for a user equipment (UE) in a Radio Resource Control Inactive (RRCINACTIVE) state, wherein the DL PDU includes a Paging Cause to indicateto the UE a reason for the page; and sending the Paging Cause in apaging message to the UE.
 11. The one or more machine readable media ofclaim 10, wherein the Paging cause indicates a type of traffic that hascaused the paging.
 12. The one or more machine readable media of claim10, wherein the type of traffic includes Internet Protocol (IP)Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) voice traffic, IMS Short Message Service(SMS) traffic, IMS other traffic, or non-IMS traffic.
 13. The one ormore machine readable media of claim 10, wherein the Paging Cause isdetermined by a Core Network of the UPF.
 14. The one or more machinereadable media of claim 10, wherein Paging Cause is sent to the UE in adownlink (DL) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) SESSION INFORMATION header.15-18. (canceled)
 19. An apparatus of a user equipment (UE), comprising:radio frequency circuitry configured to communicate with a a nextgeneration NodeB (gNB); and one or more baseband processorscommunicatively coupled to the radio frequency circuitry and configuredto perform operations comprising: receiving a paging message from thegNB when the UE is in a Radio Resource Control Inactive (RRC_INACTIVE)state, wherein the paging message includes a Paging Cause to indicate tothe UE a reason for the page.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, furthercomprising a dual subscriber identification module (SIM).